Under Bleak Skys
by Shade-249
Summary: Through a fearsome ritual, a young adults life is destroyed, literally, as he is torn from Earth and deposited on the continent of Tamriel, amidst the resulting confusion he is stricken with a deadly and horrifying disease. Having lost his humanity and left alone in a fantasy realm, he has to make a choice, wallow and die, or grow in power, blow stuff up, and get revenge.
1. Chapter 1 - Dark beginnings

**Author's note: Hello and thank you for taking the time to read over my fic, I hope you find this first chapter interesting and make you willing to come back for more, now this is my first fic and first time interacting with this site under a username, this doesn't mean I'm unable or unwilling to accept criticism, I welcome you taking the time to help me improve upon my work and skills, feel free to point out any errors in spelling and grammar (of which I know there will be many) I appreciate it. Now without further interruption, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of this fic.**

**Disclaimer: Any and all mention of 'The Elder Scrolls' present in this work of fiction does not belong to me, it is owned by Bethesda Softworks.**

-Chapter one-

A long, lusting howl pierced the darkness brought by nightfall only to drown out amongst the frigid winds lording over the land, forcing all but the bravest or foolish inhabitants to gather around fireplaces and huddle together, whilst many woodland creatures retreated to their burrows. Another howl sounded throughout the snow covered trees but was just as swiftly cut out by the ever increasing roar of wind.

A mound of snow that had gathered around the base of a tree was disturbed as a lupine shadow leapt over it and bolted through the swirling mass of branches, shrubbery and darkness, the shadow grinded to a complete stop as its powerful nose was brought to the ground, the distinctly wolven outline artfully weaved its way around and over the flora present in its current environment, lifting its head up, the lupines gaze locked with a large hill covered in snow, its eyes traveled downwards until they fell upon a somewhat concealed opening, light flickering within.

Cautiously padding its way into the cave, the shadow was awashed in revealing light, sharp, yellow eyes peered deeper inside the cave while tangled, black fur shook with vigor trying to remove the snowy coat from its back, a muzzle parted to allow a wisp of breath out. The now identified wolf continued further into the cave.

Curious lanterns hung from walls ensuring the area was visible to all, the lone wolf paid these little mind as it delved into the cave, rock and gravel parted under foot as the wolf jumped off a small ledge, the previous straight path dropped deeper inside, soon after the wolf had landed its keen hearing caught the sound of voices reverberating off the walls of rock, perking its ears forward, the predator silently pursued these voices, with each paw skulking forward the sounds grew larger and more clearer, this didn't mean the wolf understood what was being communicated, just that its stomach growled louder alongside the noise as it became excited at the prospect of a meal, picking up pace the wolfs paws pounded against the rock comprising the floor, as spit rolled off its tongue.

Upon entering a large cavern the lupine abruptly stopped, its ears wilted and dropped onto the lupines head, its tail had gone ridged and also fell, letting out a soft whine the wolf took a step back, tensed its muscles and prepared to charge back to the entrance.

The sound, a dribble of unrecognizable words spoken by multiple voices, dominated the entire cavern, any other sound was immediately stifled under the grand chorus brought about by several figures standing amidst the middle of the cavern, surrounded by old, crumbing ruins, once elegant houses and mystical spires, now rotting shades of what time had wrought.

The chanting had suddenly died, only to soon start again as the unknown number of people raised their hands into the air, purple streams of spectacular energy flowed from the finger tips of the gathering, wreathing the middle of the cavern in mystical and wondrous light obstructing the beings from sight, this culminated into a continuously consuming sphere of light, grasping the entire cavern in its clutches, any being, be they Man, Mer, Beast, or creature was blinded in the enveloping sphere. And then, darkness.

-Elsewhere-

Sunlight bathed the streets in heat, electronics fried, anything metallic was handled with as much care as a newborn and cats lounged underneath any form of shade they could find, drivers blared their horns aggressively and shouts could be heard from afar.

Crossing off the main road and onto a quieter street, a teenager, hastily walked towards his home, eager to take off his shoes and rest his burning feet. Overhearing the latest volley of rage from the larger and more populated main road, the male gave a small shake of his head and a smirk crossed his visage, which was almost entirely covered in sweat, his long, dark blonde hair whipped back as a large waft of warm air smacked into his short and skinny frame, heaving a sigh the teen straightened his clothing which consisted of a simple, featureless dark gray shirt and blue jeans, finished with a pair of white sneakers with red and grey trimmings, his green eyes observed both sides of the street before turning onto another.

The soon to be young adult relentlessly carried on despite the heat, intent on making his way home, his body was on autopilot as his mind was dominated by thoughts of 'Another glorious day in Australia' before everything disappeared in absolute astonishment at the anomaly that had, without warning, appeared directly in front of him, the tip of his nose was partially covered by it while his still struggling mind failed to associate the occurrence with anything familiar, when it turned up nothing, the teen had only just noticed the tendrils of purple...stuff crawling up and devouring his arms.

Struggling did nothing put quicken the pace as his elbows were lost within the sphere, its slowly growing pace served to make the teen throw his head back and pull, to no avail, try as he might the male could only shout for help in the seemingly desolate street.

Fear, primal and strong, welled up in the teen, now throwing his body around in a fit, doing whatever he could to escape the sphere of purple doom threatening to engulf him, which in a matter of seconds had already done so, enveloping his body whole, the teen only had enough time to shed a single tear before his world turned black.

**Author's note: Well. That's it. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, if so, I hope I can continue making more to your liking, I would appreciate anyone who ends up reading this to leave a comment, anything would be nice, also any constructive criticism would be great (remember to use simple words) If you happen to spot any spelling/grammar errors, please inform me.**

**And with that, I'd like to thank you for reading and bid you a goodbye.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Junior Spelunker

**Author's note: I'm back with the second chapter, now I should have mentioned this in the first note but for those reading, do ****not**** expect this to update frequently, I don't have much time to work on anything other than school work due to being in my final year of highschool, so updates will be very inconsistent.**

**Count Bathory: Thank you for informing me of this, I will set about fixing the first chapter up and make sure to check over my future chapters for these errors. I'm glad you think this has potential and I'll be sure to try and live up to expectations.**

**Moonflower04: I'm happy you like the fic, thank you for commenting and your praising of my writing style, I hope I can continue to make this fic enjoyable.**

**Disclaimer - Any and all mention of 'The Elder Scrolls' present in this work of fiction does not belong to me, it is owned by Bethesda Softworks.**

**Now onto the fic.**

A swirl of purple and black evaporated around the confines of the cavern, its light caressed the peripherals of the recently awoken teens eyes, his head shot upward in surprise as he attempted to gain his bearings this proved to be a bad choice of action as his already swimming head crashed against a pile of rubble, his body froze and after a few minutes of calm, a hand came up from the tangled mess of limbs, it perched itself atop the the rubble and with a grunt of exertion the teen brought his body up, slowly, with a shake of his head the young man scanned the room.

Mouth open wide with astonishment, the teen found himself face to face with a hood covered face, letting out a short scream he swiftly hauled himself up from where he had tripped in shock and stood completely still, the caverns endless silence save for the crackling of flames creating a feeling of overpowering apprehension for the still cowering teen. Noticing that the hooded body had yet to respond, he squinted in an effort to discern the bodies identity, bending over and lifting the hood, his shock only increased.

A sharp set of facial features, followed by ridged eyebrows and a pair of pointed ears, clean shaven skin and flowing black hair greeted the teen, he quickly stood straight and whipped his head to view another portion of the cavern as a groan infiltrated the deafening silence, surrounded by darkness and only the faintest light offered from the lamps lining the walls of the ever growing cavern, the teens unfocused eyes landed upon many fallen forms, their bodies wreathed in black cloth, their heads enshrouded by hoods, more and more groaning filled the cavern.

Gazing back to the being the teen fell atop, he took note of the things ash-like skin, good for blending in with the darkness, how many of these things were in here? With an expression much like a deer caught in the headlights, the teen spun around in a desperate attempt to locate the exit, through luck he spotted a lamp illuminating a tunnel connecting the cavern to an exit, or at least that was his hope.

Stumbling around the multiple piles of rubble, he quickened his gait as the sound of shifting pierced his ears and caused uproar within his stomach, fear held a blade up to the teens heart as his shoe got caught upon a small ledge he was ascending, taking a chance, the teen looked behind him as he willed his bruised body to move, his eyes connected with glowing golden pinpricks of light, confusion disappeared and was replaced with continually growing horror as he realised they were eyes, unable to ascertain the emotions within, the teens legs went to 'ludicrous speed' as he threw himself up the ledge.

The cavern quickly disappeared from the teens mind as a cold chill forced its way through his body, with the sense of impending salvation from the cave, he worked his already overtaxed body to go faster, a slight touch of air covered his form and a small blossoming of hope rose in his chest which thundered with exertion and soaked his shirt in sweat, he sighted an outline amidst the darkness that indicated the caves opening to the outside world, with a grand heave he tossed his torn body out of the opening and out into the white that blanketed the ground and trees.

bringing his face out of the whites embrace he stood up and quickly took stock of his surroundings, hopeful for any kind of path he could follow to civilization, only dense woodland greeted him, the rising sun gifted a much needed source of light for the teen, but the trees expansive branches clouded the area in shadows, with just enough light to see, the young mans visage contorted in disbelief as he came to realise the 'white' around him and atop everything else was snow.

'Real snow?' his mind was captivated by this astounding phenomenon enough to completely forget about the apparent danger behind him.

'It...It doesn't snow like this in Australia...Not like this.'

This new realization caused him to wrap his arms around himself as he dimly noted his only protection against the now frigid weather was a simple t-shirt and jeans, shivering, the teen casted his eyes around the ground his gaze landed upon small prints made on the snow, multiple sets of prints were etched within the snow, one pair heading into the cave he had just escaped and another heading further into the forest.

Now that he had a closer look the prints reminded him of something, they looked almost identical to that of a dogs paw.

'Wolves?!'

The teens mind grappled with the thought of heading back into the cave who's very presence caused his heart to jump, the cave almost felt...unnatural, or delving deeper in this unknown forest which contained wolves and any number of predators.

He did not have to wait long to make a choice as an angry shout, more like a snarl, rose up from within the caves dominating interior, combining mind and matter he automatically decided anywhere was better than the cave and whatever dwelled within and charged off into the forest with no particular direction in mind, while doing his best to ignore the unpredicted cold fighting his body.

Running off pure adrenaline he pushed his body far beyond what it was capable of, he paid this little mind as his thoughts were consumed by the belief that if he slowed only death awaited, vaulting over a fallen tree, he finally broke out of the forest, looking out over extravagant hills of snow reached over to the sun itself and only the sliver of light broke the enraptured teen out of his reverie, he observed this new development with gusto, the site spoke of civilization, people, warmth, comfort, food, water, shelter, and above all, safety.

With newfound strength the teen throttled himself forward intent on not letting anything come between himself and the possibility of safety.


	3. Chapter 3 - Encounters

**Author's note: Right first off, apologies if I took too long, as I mentioned in the previous note do no expect regular updates, the reason why is also listed. Now with that out of the way, I present to you the third chapter of Under Bleak Skys. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer - Any and all mention of 'The Elder Scrolls' present in this work of fiction does not belong to me, it is owned by Bethesda Softworks.**

Another chill whipped against his body, reinforcing its presence on the wayward humans mind. His body shuddered with every whip, the thin fabric making up his attire was as erratic as the wind attempting to strangle him one second and fly away the next.

Bringing his head down to shield himself from the vicious wind, the teen continued his ever tiring trudge through the unexpected snow which fought against every step he took, his body was almost unrecognisable amidst the current elements, his previously dark grey shirt and blue jeans were almost pure white and his hair had adopted the same look, his shoes were half lodged within the ground.

With a grunt of exertion the teen brought his head back up and eyed the light he had seen in the distance, its glow pierced the undiscriminating snow and hung in the air projecting a symbol of hope to lost and weary travelers. The teen would have smiled had he not seemingly misjudged the distance.

He had been walking for what felt like an hour to his muddled mind.

Feeling his body give another violent shudder, he dipped his head once again and took note of his inexplicitly pale appendages, his fingers were absolutely numb and bore similar signs to frostbite.

'Is this how I die?' Was the only thing his clouded mind could pick up.

Heaving a sigh the teen forced a foot forward and began his bleak looking journey again.

Minutes later he came to an abrupt halt as he frantically scanned the area around him, only snow and the howling of wind were present.

"I swear I heard something" He remarked in a weak voice, the words coming out cracked and almost inaudible.

Taking one last look over the area, and silently wishing no wolves stalked him out of the forest, he wobbled a bit before he started to begin his journey anew, not seconds into his trek and the sound returned with increasing volume causing him to stop again and stare in the direction the voice had come from, what he saw caused his heart to jump in exuberance and made him forget about the cold threatening to bring about his death.

A person.

Or what he hoped would be a person was swiftly, or as swiftly as one could covered in snow, making its way towards him, from what little the teen could make out the being possessed some form of cloak or snow gear that reached below its ankles and waved with the wind a hood shrouded what features the snowfall couldn't, a light was shining within the persons left hand, a torch perhaps, and something bulky and round was grasped firmly within its right hand.

A slight smile broke through the grip the cold had on the teens visage, he threw a hand above his head and gave a small wave towards his potential saviour, the voice strengthened in power the teen now knowing the person was shouting, he continued holding his arm up but his eyes narrowed somewhat and the small smile was lost, he didn't get much time to ponder why the person was shouting in a rather aggravated tone because he suddenly felt a hard pressure upon his right wrist, the arm was pulled down and twisted around his back.

As soon as the pressure was felt the teen felt himself die inside, the frigid winds battering him were nothing compared to the maelstrom of fear and winter which assaulted his gut and turned his bones to ice, this only increased dramatically as the teen swung his head behind him in an effort to see what had bound him when a shimmer directly in front of his face formed into a beings chin.

His breath caught in his throat as yellow eyes appraised him from a higher vantage point, it was all he could do not to faint as he took in her features, its visage clearly displaying that of a female, swept back hair flowed downwards and across her shoulders, unnaturally pale skin covered what wasn't hidden by snow covered robes, sharp, elongated canines were brought to attention in a twisted, cocky smirk.

She finish inspecting her prey and turned her eyes and smirk towards the newcomer who had stopped shouting as it realised the beast had caught the foolhardy adventurer.

He took up a stance between the creature and its newly acquired shield, magical flames flowing around one hand and a sturdy mace practically fused with the other.

The teen looked around to his previously thought of saviour, the mans hood had fallen when he arrived to break up the inspection and now the teen could take in more of his features, a long dark beard trailed off the man's face, several lines creased his visage marking the signs of older age, his eyes however proved that despite the man's apparent age he would not be defeated, cold, hard confidence and a set objective shined through this man's eyes ensuring he would not falter in his task, this almost elated the teens fear despite the fact the man's mission probably wasn't dedicated to saving his sorry hide.

Drawing his gaze from the man's own the teen almost shook his head in confusion as he eyed the man's hands, one apparently holding up fire without a care and the other holding what looked to be a mace.

Disturbed and somewhat annoyed at the days ridiculousness the teen was about to demand to know what was happening before him but another voice, a mocking and feminine voice spoke out towards the teens supposed saviour.

"It would be a shame wouldn't it?" Her caustic smirk grew wider with each word.

"If another 'monster' was unleashed upon Nirn because someone became overenthusiastic in doing their 'duty' to their god" She sneered.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if Stendarr would approve of your actions" She snorted at the end of her sentence.

The man who had been quietly reciting something under his breath locked eyes with her, his own eyes no longer held any sense of self rather a large amount of anger could be seen within. Her speech seemed to get under his skin and with a shout of general hatred he lunged towards her bringing his mace to bear.

Her eyes widened with surprise at how easily she had invoked the man into charging, unknowingly taking advantage of his captors surprise as he flung about wildly in an attempt to escape the very close, very angry and very dangerous man.

Regaining control of her senses for a second she tightened her grasp on the teens wrist, her nails piercing the skin and digging in. Wincing, the teen withdrew from her hold as the man crashed into her at full force, the teen struggled to his feet and took off in a very vague direction towards the light, running off adrenaline he didn't take note of the cold still freezing him or the small droplets of blood forming where the woman, thing, monster had dug her nails in, ignoring the clashing of steel behind him, the teen ran until he couldn't hear anything that sounded close to the fighting he had almost partook in, eventually he came across a small, but seemingly safe cave dug out into a nearby rock which was in front of a not quite yet iced over pool of water.

Throwing caution to the chilly winds, the young, shivering, confused, frightened, and hurt teen delved into the cave and upon reaching the back wall dropped down into a shaking huddle, a small amount of tears fell from his wet, stinging eyes as evening rolled around. The teen stayed in that position all night, trying his hardest to forget and go to sleep.


End file.
